"According to these 'experts,' to be a competent modern mothers was a matter of having a stronger will than the baby's."

"… a whole generation of American mother got further lessons in heirarchy: Do what others tell you to do; believe what others say rather than what you feel yourself."

"While you can't spoil an infant by always responding to its distress or by providing whatever it needs, doing so long after infancy does spoil character."

"The bear is a symbol of the protective aspect of Artemis. Artemis is particularly protective of girls and women."

"Girls raised metaphorically by mother bear can be children nurtured by Mother Nature. They may be drawn to animals and find solace outdoors."

"Girls who are not under the protection of Artemis may reveal rather than hide their vulnerability, which can mark them as potential victims to be preyed on, bullied, or made scapegoats."

"While one archetype may be the strongest, all of the others are potential sources of meaning in every woman. And not every facet of the strongest archetype has to be lived out or felt in each woman."

"… the goddess-of-the-moon aspect of the Atalanta archetype explains the capacity for reflection – to draw back from activity, to think about motivation and meaning, to see by moonlight or reflected light."

"To be able to take to the woods, to turn to animals or to books, to have a rich imagination, or to be nourished by solitude are solitary activities that feed self-sufficiency …"

"… far from being a blank slate upon which we write, babies come with predispositions and train their mothers. They push buttons in their mothers' psyche and draw out aspects and responses – for better or worse."

"I also suspect that infant girls and toddlers who survive illnesses that were expected to kill them … have an inherent or archetypal will to live."

"Patriarchal systems are always hierarchal, symbolized as a pyramid or mountain, with the most desirable position at the top."

"Torture is not culture." (Note: In reference to female genital mutilation/FGM.)

"Atalanta would have felt special, cared for, and supported during this phase of her life, as do girls in the mold of Artemis who have fathers who are delighted with their spunk and abilities … 'father's daughters.' They are women who are decisive, can act swiftly, choose targets or goals of their own, and have the focus and skill to hit what they aim for."

"Atalanta the adult may be a woman who did not learn how to look after the feelings of others and who may not know her own emotional needs or feelings."

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Just Thinking …

“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” ― Assata Shakur, Assata: An Autobiography

“Representation of the world, like the world itself, is the work of men; they describe it from their own point of view, which they confuse with the absolute truth.” – Simone de Beauvoir

“Naive as it may sound, inoculating society against the antisocial requires, at bottom, persuading people of what is palpably true: that society has value and everyone should contribute.” – Bruce Cannon Gibney, Author